Incandescent lamp



Feb. 2, 1932. w H, E K 1,843,856

INCANDESCENT LAMP Filed Aug. 11, 1950 INVENTOR TTORNEY Patented Feb. 2,i932 WALTER H. WEEKS, F LAWRENCE, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FEDERAL DISTRIBUTING- CO. INC., OF NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY INCANIDESCENT LAMP Application filed August11, 1930. Serial No. 474,367.

My present invention relates to the incandescent lamp art and moreparticularly to improvements in incandescent lamps comprising what maybe called a combination filament which is adapted to be,burned at' theordinary house lighting voltages but which is capable by means of thearrangement embodied in the lamp of being burned not only at the maximumwattage to which the lamp is adapted but also at lower wattages at thesame voltage and without loss of efliciency.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to the drawingsforming part of this specification, which show specific preferredembodiments of the invention, illustrative thereof but without limitingthe invention thereto.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 shows diagram-- matically a lamp embodying oneform of the invention; Figs. 1 and 1 are views of the insulating button11 detached from the lamp; I

and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of the inventionusing Wiping contacts. c

The drawings illustrate a type of lamp within this invention having acombination filament adapted to burn at a given predetermined wattage,the filament being enclosed in a bulb which may be either evacuated orhave a gaseous atmosphere.

. Thus, assuming that the lamp illustrated in Fig. 1 is designed tooperate on a 110.volt circuit at 50 watts for each half of the filament,it is possible to operate it selectively either at 100 watts or 50 wattson the same voltage by the simple act of screwing the lamp-base to agreater or less distance into the socket.

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically one embodiment of the invention. In thisfigure, I happen to show a three-stage lamp,that is to say, a lampoperable at three different degrees of illumination. However, the pun--ciple is the same regardless of whether there be two, three or morestages.

In this lamp, a button 11 made of porcelain or other suitable insulatingmaterial is stationarily mounted within the shell of the lamp-base withits lower portion projecting through the usual large opening in thebottom of said shell. This button has an axial hole through it leadinginto a recess of larger diameter countersunk into the top of the button,meaning the portion thereof that is inside the base of the lamp. Aheaded metal pin 12 is contained in this recess and axial hole in thebutton and is axially movable therein. Metallic spring contacts 13, 14,15 secured to the top of the button at its periphery project radiallyinwardly so that their free ends overlie one another and the head of thepin 12. Said spring contacts are all supported at difierent levelssothat normally they are all out of contact with and The filamentof thelamp in Fig. 1 is a combination filament designated in general by thenumeral 16 and comprising three parts 16, 16 16. These different partsmay be designed to burn at different or the same wattages but the samevoltage to give difi'erent degrees of illumination. All of these partsof the combination filament 16 are connected together at one end to alead-wire 17 soldered to a metallic shell 18 of the lampbase. At itsother end, each individual part of the filament is connected to anindividual lead-wire 19*, 19", 19 respectively. These lead-wires in turnare severally electrically connected to the previously described springcontacts 13, 14, 15.

Upon screwing this lampinto an ordinary lamp socket, the projecting freeend of the pin 12 coming in contact with the center contact of thesocket is forced inwardly to bring its head into engagement with thefirstor lowermost spring contact 13. This adjustment of the lampwillserve to burn a part of the filament designated 16 which,

for example, may be a ten watt filament operating on 110 volts. If adifferent degree of then be screwed a trifle farther into the socketuntil the pin has pressed the first spring contact against the secondspring contact 14, whereupon the part 16 of the filament will also burn.This part 16', for example, may be a 25 watt filament operating at 110volts, thereby adding that much more to the illumination. To get stillmore illumination, the part 16 also may be burned along with 16 and 16by screwing the lamp still farther into its socket until the pin hasforced the first and second contacts into engagement with the thirdspring contact 15. This last named part 16 of the filament may also be a25 watt filament aperating at 110 volts.

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically another form of the invention differing inhaving wiping contacts. Here the lamp-base comprises the metallicscrew-threaded shell 20 secured to the porcelain button or cap 21.Slidable in an axial hole in the latter is a pin 22 headed at both ends22 and 22. 23, 23 and 23 are spring contacts insulated from one anotherand suitably supported by the porcelain button at different levelswithin the shell. These radially arranged contacts have their free endsdirected towards the axis of the lamp-base so as to be wiped one afterthe other by the head 22 of the pin 22 when forced inwardly by screwingthe lamp-base into its socket with the head 22 of the pin in engagementwith the center contact of the socket. 24 is a spiral spring surroundingthe pin between its outer head 22 and the porcelain button 21, saidspring being strong enough to withdraw the inner head 22 of the pin outof contactsuccessively with the contacts 23", 23 and 23 as fast aspermitted by the act of unscrewing the lamp-base from its socket.

The diagram Fig. 2 also indicates the circuit connections to the threepart combination filament whose parts are designated respectively 25, 25and.25. All of these are shown joined together at one end which isconnected by lead-wire 26 to the shell 20. Their other ends arerespectively connected by lead-wires 27, 27 and 27 to the aforesaidcontacts 23, 23 and 23.

In the particular illustration Fig. 2, as the lamp-base is screwed intoits socket, filament 25 will first light up, due to the electricalconnection made between the head 22 of the pin and the wiping contact23*. This may be a 10 watt filament. Screwing in'the lampbase stillfurther causes the head 22 of the pin to leave the contact 23 tode-energize this 10 watt part 25 of the filament and to come intocontact with the next wiping contact 23. This causes the second part 25of the filament to light, which may be a 25 watt filament. Finally,screwing in the lamp-base still further does not deenergize saidfilament 25 but additionally ener- Y gizes filament 25 due to the factthat the two contacts 23 and 23 purposely, but, of course, notnecessarily, are located nearly enough at the same level so that thehead 22 of the pin can contact both of them at the same time. In thiscase, if the filament 25 be a 25 watt filament, then the totalillumination will be that of a 50 watt lamp.

It will be understood that other changes and modifications additional tothose already indicated"may be made in the particular embodiments of theinvention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof or thescope and spirit of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. An incandescent lamp comprising a combination filament; a pluralityof spring I socket in screwing the base into the socket to makeelectrical connection with the lower most spring contact and then as theplug is screwed still further into the socket to make 'lectricalconnection successively with the other contacts.

2. A base for an incandescent lamp comprising a metallic shell,insulating material supported by said shell and having an axial holetherethrough; a pin supportedin said hole with an end operativelyprojecting below said insulating material, the top of said insulatingmaterial within the shell being formed with portions raised to differentlevels relatively to each other: and contacts mounted on said portionsat the different levels with their free ends projecting towards the axiso the shell to overlie the aforesaid pin.

3. A base for an incandescent lamp comprising a metallic shell,insulating material supported by said shell and having an axial holetherethrough; a pin supported in said hole with an end operativelyprojecting below said insulating material, said pin having a conductinghead within said shell; contacts insulated from each other and supportedat different levels within said lamp base to come into wiping contactwith the head of said pin when forced in and out; and a spring tendingto force the pin into an outermost po sition wherein it does not engagesaid contacts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of August,1930.

' WALTER H. WEEKS.

